


I Was Always Going To End Up With You

by justawriter587



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Arya couldn't leave without saying goodbye, Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Sandor survived the fall, Sansa/Sandor (mentioned), Series Finale, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-29 12:10:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19019650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justawriter587/pseuds/justawriter587
Summary: Starting at the meeting in the Dragon Pit; Gendry and Arya reunite after the King’s Landing massacre. He asks  her to spend the night with him before she goes off on her adventure the next morning.





	I Was Always Going To End Up With You

**Author's Note:**

> This story is canon compliant, with just a few minor changes. It does not take place in the same timeline as my other Game Of Thrones story "Home".

The idea had been tossing around in her head for awhile now. 'If this isn't it; if I live, what do I want to do? Where should I go?' It didn't seem like something she ought to worry too much about before the war, but now it was time to decide. Arya's eyes drifted out to the sea. 

There, she found her answer.

The council meeting ended and it was time to move on. Before there could be going of any sort there were still a few people to talk to. Even though they'd understand, she knew they would, there was still that sting of leaving when she'd just gotten them back. But home wasn't really home anymore, and she needed some time. 

Arya ran over to her family where they were saying their goodbyes. Sansa was the first to look up. "There you are. We were just saying goodbye to Bran since he won’t be riding with us to Winterfell in the morning. Are you coming with us now or will you be staying here for a while?"

It's never easy to tell someone that you love them, but you're leaving in the same breath. Arya sighed. "Neither. I love you all so much, but I can't go home. Not now at least. I'm going off for awhile, to see some of the things i've been ignoring. But I will come back. I promise."

It was clearly not what any of them were expecting. Sansa smilled. "I should have known I couldn't keep you for long." Her face was somber as she pulled Arya into a fierce hug. "Do come back home, when you're ready. Sandor will want to see you when he's better and i'll- I'll be missing my little sister."

"Aye, and you'll have to come visit the wall as well. Something tells me you and the Free Folk will get along just fine," Jon said as he joined their hug. That made Arya laugh, and she smiled in the way you only can when you've got something this wonderful to come back to.

The Stark siblings continued on to the camps but Arya remaned. Her eyes caught Gendry's from where he was standing across the clearing and she walked towards him. He'd been in a discussion with ser Davos, but as soon as he saw her he crossed to her and they met in the middle. They looked at each other for a moment without saying anything before Arya spoke. "Hi."

"You look good," She said, smiling. "All of this, it suits you." He was smiling too, but there was a sadness to it. "I suppose you're right." A little water welled in the corners of his eyes.

This wasn't the time, or the place. There were people everywhere and a lord was supposed to be strong and together. But he'd held it together for so long and suddenly it all fell away. 

Arya had the good sense to move them away from the crowd. She grasped his hand and lead him over to a nearby cove of bushes and trees. it wasn't private by any means but it was certainly better than the middle of a huge clearing where they were.

It didn't really matter any how if someone saw, but Arya wanted this moment just for them. She pulled him into her arms, his head falling to her shoulder. The little tears tickled the skin of her neck and if the timing had been better, it might have made her laugh.

"I didn't know until I got here. I had only just made it to Storm’s End when we got the news of King’s Landing. Jon sent a raven saying we'd taken the city, and of the cost. I read it over and over and I thought-" he choked up, "I thought you died. I didn't know if you were alive until I got here."

He pulled her tighter in his arms until she was impossibly close.

"I'm sorry I frightened you." She pulled back to look at him but didn't move the hand he had resting on her waist. She smiled. "An old friend reminded me that i'm not the same girl I used to be. I decided i'd die finishing my list at a time I thought I had nothing to live for, but things changed. I changed. And I realized I wanted to keep going. But..." 

And here she paused. "I also realized that I can't stay here." That little tear on his cheek caught her eye, so she brushed it away with her thumb. "Not right now, at least.There's been too much hurt here. When I close my eyes I can hear the screaming just as real as I hear the water beating against the shore right now. I can still smell the burning every day, no matter where I go." She looked out at the sea. "And more than that, there's just so much more I want to see."

With a hand under her chin he brought her gaze back to him from where it had drifted off towards the sea. There couldn't possibly be anything more beautiful than her, here, in this moment. And he kissed her, since it was all he could do. 

“Will you stay with me tonight?" he asked against her skin. "Will you spend this night with me before you go off tomorrow to see everything there is to see and do everything there is to do?"

"That is exactly where I want to be." There was so much more, but she didn't say it. Not yet.

"Meet me tonight. My tent isn't far from here. We've set up camp right outside the city."  
He pulled her in for a kiss, and then he was off. She waited a minute where she was. To remember this moment.

========================================================================================

Most of the lords who came for the counsel meeting chose to camp outside the grounds of king’s landing. Though not too far apart, it turned out Gendry and the others from the stormlands were a little ways past the rest of the camps. Arya waited for night fall, then made her way to Gendry's tent. 

She stepped into the tent and quickly turned to close it behind her. Her skin bristled at the difference in temperature. Outside there was a winter's breeze, but in here it was warm.

"Took you long enough," Gendry said, however there was no bite in his voice. She turned for the first time since entering, and she saw it. Suddenly It was even warmer.

"Oh," she breathed. The room was scattered with candles, and in the middle was a bed of soft looking furs.

Gendry took her hand and pulled her in. Instead of a kiss though, he just kept her close. Their foreheads gently touching and his fingers intertwined with hers.

"I know it's not grain sacks, and there's no immediate threat of death looming over us, but I figured for a last night in Westeros, this would do."

"Didn't know you were such a romantic."

"Only for you." He paused  
"Arya I-" but she brought her finger up to his lips.

"I don't want to talk about leaving, or the future, or anything. I don't want to talk about it, I just want-" he cut her off with a hard kiss.

"I know what you want." His arms wrapped around her and lifted her up. Another time, she thought, when they had real walls that she could be pressed against, she wanted to have him just like this.

Their kisses grew heated, but slower. Deeper. Her tongue traced along his lips until they found their way together. Expecting hard, fast, burning passion, she’d braced herself. When he said he knew what she wanted she thought it would be frantic like last time. She wanted him of course, but this slow, loving moment with his heart beating against hers. This is what she needed.

As pleasant as the warm worn out leather of her pants felt, Gendry needed to feel her skin. He laid her down on the furs and busied himself with undoing the laces of her pants. 

He pulled them off and dropped down between her knees. 

Confusing. Since everything she had been planning to do involved him being a lot higher up. "What on earth are you doing down there?"

Gendry chuckled. It was easy to forget that he was her first man. When they had last been together they hadn't exactly had time to explore, and she seemed more comfortable taking the lead. He let her of course, but now he wanted to show her this.

"You'll see. If you don't like it, tell me. I promise I'll stop." 

There wasn't any part of Arya that didn't trust this man. She knew he would always listen to her.

He waited for a snappy comeback of some sort, but all she said was,"I trust you." He kissed along the inside of her thigh. Little hiccupy moans began to fill the tent. He moved up to her core to kiss her there.

"Oh," she let slip out. This was new in a way she hadn't expected. He licked around her, then his tongue pushed inside, making her squeak. He didn't go deeper, just touching her lightly. Lavishing her cunt with affection as she wiggled against his tongue. 

She peaked and he felt the tremor in her legs.  
Moving his way back up her body he kissed along her stomach. Pushing up the soft linen shirt she wore until it was bunched above her chest.

When he got to the scars on her torso he gave them extra attention. Kissing each and every one. 'One day,' he thought, 'one day she'll tell me.'

He ran his tongue along the underside of her breast, bringing his hands up to her perfect chest. He squeezed them lightly, gently touching her nipple with his thumb and just barely touching with his lips.

Arya finally pulled the shirt over her head, reaching for his as well. "You are planning to get naked at some point, right?" And he laughed.

"How can I justify taking the time to get my clothes off when I could be here in this bed kissing you?" 

Arya rolled her eyes. "Because then you can do more than kiss me." That seemed to do the trick as he rose from the bed and began stripping away his clothes. 

She watched him. When the last piece fell to the floor he lowered himself back to the bed. Her hands touched all over his body. There was nothing else in her whole life as warm as his skin and she was in awe of it. How no matter how cold it was, he was always her warm place.

For the first time that night her eyes found his. His hand came up to her cheek and everything grew still for a moment. The way the candle light cradled her hair and the very edge of her face made it impossible to look away.

Gendry reached down and raised her leg to rest over his hip and pressed inside her. A moan slipped from his lips as he was surrounded by her warmth. 

The little crinkle of her forehead and the breathy sound she made when he was inside her had to be the most beautiful memory he had now. 

He thrust into her slowly. Their eyes dropped closed as they shared deep kisses. He wanted to devour her in this moment. She felt too good. 

She found her peak on his cock as he thrust in just a little deeper. He guided her through and then found his own release inside her.

A little strand of hair had fallen in her eye so Gendry tucked it behind her ear and pressed his lips against hers. 

They snuggled together under the furs and drifted off to sleep. 

========================================================================================  
When Arya woke she was completely surrounded by warmth. It had to be the first time in her life where being still didn't mean being restless. She ran her hand across his cheek.

"Good morning sunshine." It didn't matter that his breath wasn't particularly pleasant. When he kissed her, she relished in it.

"What a nice surprise to wake up and find you still here, naked in my bed instead of scrambling to dress and running out the door."

"The horn was sounding! The dead were marching on Winterfell. Would you have had me stay naked in the storage room throughout the whole battle?"

"Ah, a likely story." They smiled together.

He was so beautiful like this. Morning kissed and smiling. Her face fell. "I still have to leave." She foresaw harsh words and cruelty. At the very least for that wonderful warmth they'd created together to vannish. But no. 

"I know. I packed last night so we can leave whenever you're ready. Of course there are still a few things to gather but it shouldn't take long to get them together..." he trailed off 

Arya blinked "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Well I'm coming with you of course. You didn't really think I'd just stay here and watch you walk away, did you? I bet you thought I'd pine for you, all alone in that dreadful castle."

"Are you crazy? you just became a lord. You have lands, money, a title. It's everything you ever wanted."

It was at this, for the first time since he found her this evening that he pulled away from her. The confusion evident on his face.

"Do you know me at all? Arya, I have never cared about any of those things. Sure, a name. What bastard hasn't thought of having a proper name. But I never wanted to be a lord. I couldn't care less about titles and money. I've only ever wanted one thing in my whole life, and that was to love you. Always. 

"But-" 

"No. No buts this time. No reasons you can't or won't let me stay with you. One question. One simple question and one answer: Do you love me?" 

She looked down at her hands and thought. It all used to be so clear and now everything was fuzzy and foggy and I- "I do, love you." 

He pulled her close to rest on top of him; their bodies slotted together perfectly. The heat of his body warming hers as he kissed her deeply.  
When she pulled back she chuckled under her breath. "It's that simple you say?"

He tugged her down to lay next to him. Arms wrapped around her and her head on chest. He tipped her head up to him and kissed her again, this time it was soft. Just barely kiss at all. 

"You are a maddeningly frustrating woman as I'm sure you've been told many times before, and it would make me the happiest man on this earth to spend the rest of my life right by your side. So here's what I'm going to do, and at the end of it, if you'll have me, we'll leave this horrible city together, you and me.

I'm leaving the Stormlands to ser Davos-" he caught her before she could say anything. "And before you object, that was always my plan. As soon as you turned down my proposal I thought about it, and the people of Storm’s End deserve a leader who knows what he's doing to help them rebuild. So I'm leaving ser Davos to lead them and one day, if we decide to come back, it'll be there. We could rule it together, or I could run the Smith, and you could teach water dancing. Or we could never step foot on the Stormlands ever again, and I'd be perfectly happy. We could go to Winterfell, or King’s Landing, or we could stay in essos for the rest of our lives. I don't care. Arya Stark of winterfell, Bringer of dawn, will you take me with you, wherever you go?" 

Arya brought a hand up to his check. It was soft, he noted. Softer than it should be. 

"You really are stupid, aren't you. You're just handing me your life to do whatever I want with it? What if I told you right now to piss off and I left without you? Then what would you do? 

Somehow he wasn't surprised, but it still made him chuckle. "I don't really know. I'm kind of counting on you saying yes." 

And here she laughed with him. Because he was being completely ridiculous and stupid and bullheaded. And she loved him so much. In that moment, she loved more than she ever had. 

She rolled on top of him and with both hands on his face she brought him into a kiss.

"Okay."

"Okay? I give you a huge romantic speech and pledge myself to you forever, and all you say is okay?"

"Yes." 

"Okay." And he saw the rest of his life in front of him. It looked like this. And he smiled.

The next morning Arya stood on edge of it all and looked over at their ship. The wind whisked the sea and the spray kissed her face. She watched the water crash on the shore but surrounded by chaos, she was at peace. 

Gendry wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed against her hair. "Where are we off to?"

She turned her head and gazed up at him. "Gendry, do you know what's west of Westeros?"

"No. But let's find out. Together."

**Author's Note:**

> There are a lot of things I don't like about the canon timeline so this will probably be the only story I write that fits with it. I just really wanted to give them a happy ending. I may still continue the "Home" timeline in the future, as I love that one very much.


End file.
